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Realm Lord-Chapter 179: The Pain of Stories
Chapter 179: The Pain of Stories
The afternoon sun filtered through the car windows as they drove down a winding road, casting long shadows across the leather seats. Arthur shifted uncomfortably in his position. The hum of the engine provided a steady backdrop to the conversation that had been going on for what felt like an eternity.
"Wait, you guys were only actually in the castle for a month, but yet almost two years passed on the outside!??" Myah’s voice pitched higher with each word, her eyes wide with disbelief as she turned in her seat to face Arthur more directly.
Arthur chuckled awkwardly, the sound hollow and forced as it escaped his lips. The memory of stepping out of that nightmare only to discover that the world had moved on without them still sent chills down his spine. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and glanced sideways at Aziel, who was staring out the window with that familiar distant expression.
Aziel’s jaw tightened as he thought grimly about the experience, his fingers unconsciously tracing the faint scars on his forearm that served as permanent reminders of their time in that place. He rolled his eyes and looked away from Myah’s intense gaze, his voice barely above a whisper when he finally spoke. "Yeah... it was pretty weird."
The understatement hung in the air like a lead weight. Arthur’s throat constricted as he tried to find the right words, his voice taking on a somber tone that seemed to age him beyond his years. "Yeah... it was pretty weird," mirroring what Azile said, though the words felt inadequate to describe the horror they’d endured.
Myah’s reaction was immediate and intense. Her eyes lit up like a child who had just discovered the most amazing toy in a toy shop, completely oblivious to the pain that flickered across Arthur’s features. She leaned forward, her hands gripping the edge of her seat with white knuckles. "And you said this was all done using that realm’s native magic!?"
Arthur’s discomfort was palpable now. He looked around the car awkwardly, his gaze darting between Myah’s expectant face and the passing landscape outside. The trees seemed to blur together as his mind wandered back to memories he’d rather forget. "Uh, yeah..." he managed, his voice barely audible.
The confirmation seemed to hit Myah like a physical blow. She recoiled slightly, blinking rapidly as if trying to process the impossible information. Her breathing quickened, and her hands trembled slightly as the full implications of what Arthur had just confirmed began to sink in.
"That’s absurd..." she whispered, her voice filled with a mixture of awe and terror. "That means the magic they used had the possibility to bend space and time on massive levels... amazing!"
Her mind was clearly racing, trying to comprehend the theoretical implications of what she’d just learned. She stared down at her hands, lost in deep thought, her brow furrowed in concentration. Arthur could practically see the gears turning in her head as she processed the information, cataloging it, analyzing it, trying to fit it into her understanding of how magic was supposed to work.
The silence stretched on for several long moments, broken only by the steady rhythm of the car’s engine and the soft whisper of wind through the partially open windows. Arthur found himself holding his breath, waiting for whatever question would come next, dreading it even as he knew it was inevitable.
Suddenly, Myah’s head snapped up, her eyes blazing with renewed intensity as she focused on Arthur with laser-like precision. The sudden movement startled him so badly that he jumped in his seat, his heart hammering against his ribs like a caged bird.
"Tell me about the carvings on the wall in the altar room again!" she demanded, her voice carrying a serious and enthusiastic tone that made Arthur’s stomach clench with dread.
"Uhhh..." Arthur’s voice cracked slightly as he tried to form words. The altar room. Of all the things she could have asked about, she had to pick that. The memory of those twisted drawings carved into the stone walls,the story they tried to tell, made his skin crawl.
She had been relentlessly questioning him for almost an hour now, her curiosity insatiable and her questions growing increasingly specific and painful. Each inquiry felt like a scalpel cutting into wounds that had barely begun to heal. Arthur’s patience was wearing thin, stretched beyond its breaking point, but he couldn’t bring himself to shut her down completely.
This was his chance—possibly his only chance—to finally smooth things over with Myah, to bridge the gap that had formed between them since him and Aziel joined the team. And despite the pain of reliving these memories, he wasn’t willing to throw away this opportunity.
Arthur took a deep, shuddering breath, his chest rising and falling as he tried to center himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his strength, preparing to dive once more into the darkness of his memories. Just as he opened his mouth to begin speaking, ready to describe once again the horrifying details of that cursed place, Cara’s voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"That’s enough for now, Myah." Her tone was firm but gentle, carrying an authority that immediately commanded attention. "That must have been a very traumatic experience for them. I doubt they want to spend this long talking about it."
Arthur’s eyes snapped open, shock written clearly across his features. He stared at Cara’s reflection in the rearview mirror, completely taken aback by her intervention. The thought flashed through his mind with crystal clarity: ’Can she read minds or something!?’
The timing of her words was so perfect, so precisely aligned with his own thoughts and feelings, that it seemed almost supernatural. How could she have known exactly what he was thinking, exactly how he was feeling, when he’d been trying so hard to hide his discomfort?
Myah’s reaction was immediate and visceral. A deep flush crept up her neck and across her cheeks, the color spreading like spilled wine across her tan skin. She looked downward, her shoulders hunching slightly as she realized the insensitivity of her relentless questioning. The embarrassment was written clearly in every line of her body language.
"Of course... I’m sorry, Arthur," she managed to squeeze out, her voice thick with what sounded like genuine pain at being forced to apologize.
Arthur found himself laughing internally despite the situation. ’I guess we’ve got a ways to go,’ he thought, recognizing that while this was progress, they still had a long road ahead of them in building their relationship.
Several moments passed in relative silence, the only sounds being the gentle hum of the engine and the soft whisper of air through the ventilation system. The tension in the car was palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife. Arthur watched as Myah slowly lifted her head again, the blush and embarrassment gradually fading from her features as she composed herself.
When she spoke again, her voice had taken on a different quality—more measured, more thoughtful. "Just answer me one more thing..." she began, her tone carrying a weight that suggested this question was different from all the others.
Arthur felt his muscles tense automatically, bracing himself for whatever was coming next.
"It doesn’t make sense," Myah continued, her mind clearly working through the puzzle. "As we said before, with a story like yours, you guys could easily be some of the most famous Chosen on the planet. And like Cara said, who doesn’t want to be famous?" Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied Arthur’s face. "Something you guys failed to mention while we were having that meeting is why don’t you guys want to be rich and famous?"
Arthur found himself momentarily stunned, his mind going blank as he struggled to process what she’d just asked. It was such a simple question on the surface, but the implications behind it were staggering. She was asking him to explain something that he’d never really put into words before.
He took several long moments to think, his mind racing through possible answers, discarding each one as inadequate or too revealing. Finally, he looked at her with renewed seriousness, his expression hardening as he made his decision. When he spoke, his voice was level, controlled.
"Because I’m too weak..."
The words hung in the air between them like a confession, raw and honest and completely unexpected. Myah stared at him blankly for a long moment, her eyes wide with surprise as she tried to process what he’d just said. She blinked several times in rapid succession, as if trying to clear her vision or perhaps hoping that she’d misheard him.
"What?" she asked, her voice filled with utter confusion. The single word carried a weight of disbelief that made Arthur’s chest tighten.
Arthur laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. It was hollow, bitter, tinged with self-deprecation. "Sorry, I really don’t know how else to explain it," he said, chuckling lightly in a way that somehow made the moment even more tragic.
Myah grunted in frustration, clearly unsatisfied with his cryptic response. She turned her attention to Aziel, her eyes boring into him with the same intensity she’d focused on Arthur. "What about you?"
Aziel looked at her suddenly, as if he’d been pulled from some distant reverie. His eyes darted around the car slightly, confusion written clearly across his features. He seemed genuinely surprised that she’d asked him the question, as if he’d been hoping to remain invisible for the rest of the conversation.
When he finally answered, his voice was dry and emotionless, carrying all the warmth of a winter wind. "I don’t know," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
Myah’s face went blank again, the same expression she’d worn after Arthur’s cryptic response. She let out a long, frustrated sigh and rolled her eyes, clearly exasperated by both of their non-answers. "Of course you don’t," she muttered, her voice carrying a mix of irritation and resignation.
Meanwhile, in the front seat, Cara’s eyes remained fixed on Arthur through the rearview mirror. Her expression was odd, somber, filled with a deep understanding that seemed to pierce through all of Arthur’s carefully constructed defenses. There was something in her gaze that suggested she understood far more than she was letting on, that she could see the truth behind his words even when he couldn’t fully explain it himself.
The car continued down the winding road, carrying its passengers toward an uncertain future, each lost in their own thoughts and struggling with their own demons. The weight of unspoken truths and hidden pain filled the space between them, as heavy and oppressive as the approaching storm clouds gathering on the horizon.
A/N: Sorry for missing a post yesterday everyone, something rather unprecedented came up in my personnel life but rest assured I should not be missing any future posts!
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